The Boulder Adventist Church-based One project recently announced that its gatherings will end in February 2018. According to an announcement by Japhet De Oliveira, pastor of the Boulder Seventh-day Adventist Church and co-chair of the One project, the final One project gathering will take place in San Diego, California, Feb. 11-12.

“We have always known that it couldn't last forever, and have spent the past year contemplating how and when to draw this particular phase of our journey to an end. Scripture reminds us that, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens . . . a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them’ (Ecclesiastes 3:1,5),” the One project leaders said in a statement last week.

Commenting on the effect of the gatherings, the organizers stated that “Christ-centered people go on to inspire others—and those of you who have attended gatherings over the past seven years are a testament to this truth."

Thousands who participated in the gatherings throughout the world frequently referred to “their changed lives,” claiming that presentations and ensuing conversations have rekindled their love for the Adventist message and beliefs. When the name of Christ is raised, there also comes dissension. As with many a new initiative, the gatherings drew critical responses, often vicious, hurtful, and far-fetched and based on hearsay.

“This bittersweet but ultimately celebratory gathering—which will no doubt contain as many tears as smiles — will focus on the theme “Oh, How I Love Jesus!” the organizers announced in a formal statement. Before the final event, two earlier gatherings on the calendar — Atlanta (Oct. 21-22, 2017), and Sydney (Feb. 3-4, 2018), will be available only for those physically present. No audio or video recordings will be made.

The project started with a small group of pastors in a hotel room in Denver in 2011 and “became something much bigger than any of us could have imagined — a global phenomenon that has brought Jesus back to the center of the lives of thousands of people,” the One project leaders wrote.

No plans were announced as to whether the project will morph into another, perhaps a similarly organized activity. “We won't say ‘goodbye;’ we'll simply say ‘until,’” De Oliveira stated.